Topher couldn’t help it—he hugged Joanna. She stiffened and seemed taken aback, but then she laughed and patted his back. “Congratulations.”
“It’s gonna be great. I can’t wait to get started.”
THERE WAS a knock on the door of Jake’s hotel room. He paid for the room mostly for show, since he hadn’t spent a single night here. It was basically just a place to store his stuff. But he’d been changing clothes here, and now his backpack had to be repacked, which was an unfortunate sign that the end of the two most amazing weeks of his life were at an end.
Jake answered the door and found Topher there with a wide grin, a bottle of wine, and two glasses that looked like they’d been stolen from the hotel bar.
“We’re celebrating,” Topher said.
“All right. What are we celebrating?”
“Two things. First, you are looking at the new figure skating commentator for TBC, at least for next year’s US Championships. And if I kill it, which I totally will, I’ll be the commentator at the next Olympics.”
Jake felt a warm swell of pride in his chest. He threw his arms around Topher. “Oh my God. Congratulations!”
“And—one of the reporters decided not to go to the Closing Ceremony, so I scored a ticket for that too. I won’t be on-air or on the field with the athletes, but I’ll be in the stands. So I’ll be watching you.”
“That sounds ominous.” Jake took everything from Topher and pulled the cork out of the bottle.
“At least I won’t be stuck here watching it on TV.”
Jake poured two glasses and handed one to Topher. “Congrats on the commentary gig.”
Topher clinked his glass against Jake’s. “Thanks. I’m really excited. Which leads me to the another thing, which you apparently don’t even know about yet. I got it from the horse’s mouth, though. You and Chelsea were elected as co–flag bearers.”
“What? Really?”
“Yeah. It was a tie, apparently. I just talked to Melissa Lowe before I left the broadcast center. She said they planned to ask both of you. I’ve totally ruined the surprise, haven’t I?”
“No, that’s… that’s perfect. I gotta call Chelsea. But, like, in a few minutes.” Jake grinned at Topher and took a healthy sip of wine. “So, I had a crazy idea.”
“Uh-huh.” Topher leaned forward, his expression eager.
Jake leaned over and put a hand on Topher’s thigh. “Well, if I have to be out of the gym for five more weeks, I might as well make the most of my time. So I started looking at apartments I could sublet for a month. In New York City.”
Topher’s eyes went wide. “Are you serious?”
“I am. I thought maybe I’d see New York and some other places on the East Coast and also spend time with you and see if what we have has staying power outside of the Olympic bubble. What do you think?”
The utter glee on Topher’s face was all Jake really needed to see to know his answer. Topher leaned forward and kissed Jake. “I think… I think I might be falling in love with you. So, yeah, I think this does have staying power. And I’d love to have you visit me in New York. You can save your money on the sublet.”
“I didn’t want to presume.”
“I’ve got a two-bedroom apartment if you really need your own space. I use the second bedroom as an office-slash-closet.”
Jake opened his mouth to ask about that, but he thought better of it. Given how much luggage Topher had brought to Madrid, Jake could only imagine how much real estate his clothes took up in his apartment.
Then something Topher had said caught up with Jake. His pulse picked up. “Did you say you might be falling in love with me?”
Topher took Jake’s hand. “I think I might be. Is that crazy?”
Jake grinned. He wove his fingers together with Topher’s. “Nope. I think I might be falling in love with you too.”
Topher leaned back and grabbed his wineglass. “Let’s drink to that.”
Epilogue
A year and a half later….
TOPHER WALKED into the booth with Jake on his heels. There was still an hour before Topher actually had to be here, but he wanted to get the lay of the land. He’d be commenting on the primetime broadcast of Olympic figure skating. The first event, the new team event, would happen first. Topher picked up his headset and put it on experimentally.
“Did you… bedazzle your headset?” asked Jake.
“At least I know which one is mine.”
Jake rolled his eyes.
“We’ve still got some time before things really get underway. I could track down Joanna and talk her into letting you do some segment for TBC.”
“Nah, that’s okay. I’m happy to just relax and watch events. I’m meeting up with Natalie in an hour. We’re going to go eat our weight in sushi, and then we’ve got tickets a few rows up from the ice.”
Topher laughed. Since he and Natalie were basically besties now, he was glad Natalie and Jake got along. Natalie was in town in a capacity similar to what Topher had been doing in Madrid, but she’d also done more general sportscasting for TBC in the year since, working full-time for the TBC Sports cable channel. TBC had her assisting in calling some of the events that had been imported from the X-Games, like snowboarding and freestyle skiing.
“Well,” said Topher, snaking his arms around Jake’s shoulders, “if you have some time to kill.” Then he leaned in for a kiss.
“Ugh, get a room,” said Marilyn Chen, another retired skater who had been paired up with Topher to do most of the commentating, as she walked into the booth. They’d be joined by a guy who normally called hockey for TBC but who was there to ask leading questions about triple toe loops and how the scoring system worked.
When Topher looked at her, she was smiling.
“You’re early,” said Topher.
“So are you. Did you really sneak your husband in here to make out?”
“That wasn’t my original plan. More of a spur-of-the-moment decision.” Topher slowly lowered his hands and reluctantly stepped away from Jake.
“Far be it for me to interrupt the Olympic It Couple,” said Marilyn.
Jake rolled his eyes. “I hate when people call us that.”
“Stop being so adorable, then,” said Marilyn. “Did you know that at least once a broadcast, whenever you’re in the audience, Topher tries to find you so he can say something cheeseball like, ‘There’s my handsome husband.’”
Jake grimaced. “Ew, really?”
“I thought we agreed we would not be telling Jake that,” said Topher.
Marilyn crossed her arms. “I agreed to no such thing. How are you, Jake? Having a fun week?”
“Yeah. Toph and I caught some short track speed skating this morning. That shit is intense!”
“Oh, yeah. I hope to catch some of that this week,” said Marilyn. “I’ll watch any sport done on skates.”
“Anyone I should watch out for tonight?” Jake asked.
Marilyn looked at Topher but said, “The American pairs team is the first competitive one we’ve fielded in years. They’re called E-squared. Elliot and Eliza. They are painfully adorable.”
“Allegedly, they’re a couple,” said Topher, “and we’ve been instructed to comment on how romantic they are, but secretly, I think Elliot is skating for our team, if you know what I mean.”
Jake snorted.
“And Blake Ferrer is the male skater for the team event, at least for the short program,” said Marilyn. “He is smoking hot.”
Topher couldn’t argue with that. “He has the most perfect ass you’ve ever seen.”
Jake made a show of looking behind Topher. “Better than yours?”
“I mean, I’ve never seen my ass up close, but I’m assuming yes.”
“Have you seen Blake Ferrer’s up close?” asked Jake.
“Are you jealous, baby?” Topher threw an arm around Jake.
“No,” said Jake. “I’ll have to render a verdict on who has a better ass, though. For sc
ience.”
“For science. Of course.”
Marilyn grinned. “How’s retirement treating you, Jake?”
“Oh, it’s actually pretty great. I haven’t been retired long enough to miss gymnastics yet, though. Talk to me in six more months.”
After his foot had healed, Jake went back to the gym, decided he felt pretty good, and finished one more season after all. Since Topher traveled so much for his TBC job anyway, he sublet his apartment and rented a place in Houston while Jake was training. Jake called his last season his victory lap, and he won medals all over the world before deciding he wanted to go out on a high. That, and after he banged up his knee at World Championships—he’d badly whiffed a move on the pommel horse—his doctor basically told him he had to retire.
Living in Houston had been a strange experience for Topher. It wasn’t even that he stood out, although he did sometimes. It was more that the Mirakovitches were… overwhelming. Once Jake and Topher announced they were officially in a relationship, Lana insisted on having Topher over for dinner a few times per week, which put Topher under the discerning gaze of Valentin. Topher got the impression that Valentin thought he was pretty ridiculous. The one thing that saved Topher was that he was an athlete. When Valentin started asking what his training regimen had been like and Topher successfully demonstrated that he led a life with a great deal of discipline, Topher seemed to win Valentin over. And if Topher was not mistaken, Valentin’s eyes had gotten a little watery at the wedding.
Jake had retired finally just the previous September. And after much crying from both Lana and Chelsea, Jake packed up and moved into Topher’s apartment in New York for good.
Then he’d slept for what seemed like a month.
So, yeah, he’d barely been retired long enough to miss it. TBC was trying in earnest to get him to join their Olympics coverage, but currently Jake was eyeing an elite gym in New Jersey that he hoped to buy and possibly run. Topher knew it wouldn’t be possible for Jake to quit gymnastics cold turkey.
“You know what I did when I retired?” said Marilyn. “I went on The Dance Off.”
“Is that the celebrity ballroom dance show?” asked Topher.
“It sure is. Athletes tend to do well on the show too, because we know all about practice and discipline and can make our bodies do amazing things.”
“There you go, Jake. There’s your retirement hobby. Ballroom dance.”
Jake grimaced. “I’ve never had much rhythm. I don’t know about that. You, however, would be great on that show. I’ve seen a few episodes.” He turned to Marilyn. “I have a lot of free time on my hands now.”
Topher laughed. “I’m clearly not keeping you busy enough.”
Marilyn put up her hands. “There’s a dirty joke brewing and I don’t want to be here to witness it. I’ll leave you guys alone for a minute. But I’ll be right back, so don’t desecrate the announcer booth.”
“Like we’d be the first ones to have sex in it,” said Topher.
“Keep your pants on. I’m serious. I’m just going to get some water and maybe see if anyone has some loose rhinestones so I can make my headset as sparkly as yours.”
Topher laughed as Marilyn left. Then he kissed Jake.
“I wanted to finish the thought from when Marilyn interrupted,” Topher murmured. “She probably will return in, like, two minutes, which isn’t enough time to do anything.”
“It’s okay.” Jake put his arms around Topher’s middle. “I’m just happy to be here with you.”
“I’m glad you agreed to come with me.”
“Am I going to get in trouble for sneaking into booths with you and stealing donuts from craft services?”
“Nah. Joanna knows you’re here. Also, you heard what Marilyn said—we’re the Olympic It Couple. It’s our job to follow each other around and look adorable.”
Jake laughed. “All right. I should probably leave you and Marilyn to do your thing and go meet Natalie so we can get our sushi on.”
“All right. I’ll look for you in the stands. I might say something schmoopy about you on camera.”
“I guess I can live with that.”
Topher smiled and kissed Jake’s forehead. “I love you.”
“Love you too.” Jake pulled away gently. “Just, like, don’t embarrass me or say anything too suggestive. My parents will be watching.”
“Valentin’s going to show up on our door one evening and kill me, isn’t he?”
“He will if you make a joke about sexing up his son on national television.”
“So noted.”
“Have a good broadcast, Topher. I know you’ll kill it.”
Don’t miss the rest of the series
Race for Redemption
An Elite Athletes Novel
Sprinter Jason Jones Jr., known around the world as JJ, is America’s hope to take the title of Fastest Man in the World, the champion of the Olympic 100-meter sprint. Two years before, a doping scandal brought his winning streak to a crashing end, and even though he’s been cleared of wrongdoing, he’s finding it hard to escape the damage to his reputation. At the Games in Madrid, no one believes he’s innocent, and officials from the doping agency follow him everywhere.
It just fuels JJ’s determination to show them he’s clean and still the fastest man on earth.
If only he wasn’t tempted by foxy hurdler Brandon Stanton, an engineering student and math prodigy who views each race like a complicated equation. His analytical approach helps him win races, and he wants to help JJ do the same. But JJ’s been burned too many times before and doesn’t trust anyone who has all the answers. No matter how sexy and charming JJ finds Brandon, the Olympics is no place for romance. Or is it?
Coming in Fall 2020
www.dreamspinnerpress.com
More from Kate McMurray
WMU: Book One
Dave is enjoying his junior year at a big New England university, even if none of his relationships have been especially satisfying. He plans to hang around with his best friend Joe and focus on his studies until he graduates, and then he’ll figure out the rest.
Meeting Noel changes his plans.
Noel is strikingly beautiful and unlike anyone Dave knows. Something about Noel draws Dave to him—an attraction Dave doesn’t feel ready to label. And even if he was, why would Noel be interested in Dave? And what about Joe? He hates Noel and everything he represents, and he might hate Dave if he finds out about Dave’s secret desires. So Dave will have to keep those feelings hidden—along with his relationship with Noel.
But Noel has fought too hard for his identity to be Dave’s dirty secret. Will Dave tell the truth and risk the life he’s always known… or live a lie and risk losing the love of his life?
Life is full of surprises and, with luck, second chances.
After his father’s death, Lowell leaves the big city to help his sick mother in the conservative small town where he grew up. He’s shocked to find himself living next to none other than his childhood friend Jase. Lowell always had a crush on Jase, and the man has only gotten more attractive with age. Unfortunately Jase is straight, now divorced, and raising his six-year-old daughter. It’s nice to reconnect, but Lowell doesn’t see a chance for anything beyond friendship.
Until a night out together changes everything.
Jase can’t fight his growing feelings for Lowell, and he doesn’t want to give up the happy future they could have. But his ex-wife issues an ultimatum: he must keep his homosexuality secret or she’ll revoke his custody of their daughter, Layla. Now Jase faces an impossible choice: Lowell and the love he’s always wanted, or his daughter.
Marriage gets less convenient when love is involved.
It started simple: Ondrej Kovac marries Archie Katsaros so Ondrej can stay in the US, away from his judgmental family in eastern Europe. Archie marries Ondrej in exchange for the money to bail out his failing company. It’s a fraud neither man is convinced he can pull off.
But as Arch
ie introduces Ondrej to New York society and Ondrej proves his skill in the office, they start to discover a connection between them. Can they overcome the rocky foundation their relationship was built on, meddling immigration agents, gossip columnists determined to out their deception, and an aggressive executive set on selling Archie’s company out from under him? Only if they can prove to each other their love is worth fighting for.
Matt Blanco is a legend on the Brooklyn Eagles, but time and injuries have taken their toll. With his career nearing its end, he’s almost made it to retirement without anyone learning his biggest secret: he’s gay in a profession not particularly known for its tolerance.
Iggy Rodriquez is the hot new rookie in town, landing a position in the starting lineup of the team of his dreams and playing alongside his idol, Matt Blanco. Iggy doesn’t think it can get any better, until an unexpected encounter in the locker room with Matt proves him wrong.
A relationship—and everything it could reveal—has never been in the cards for Matt, but Iggy has him rethinking his priorities. They fall hard for each other, struggling to make it through trades, endorsement deals, and the threat of retirement. Ultimately they will be faced with a choice: love or baseball?
The Rainbow League: Book One
Ian ran screaming from New York City upon graduating from high school. A job offer too good to turn down has brought him back, but he plans to leave as soon as the job is up. In the meantime he lets an old friend talk him into joining the Rainbow League, New York’s LGBT amateur baseball league. Baseball turns out to be a great outlet for his anxiety, and not only because sexy teammate Ty has caught his eye.
Ty is like a duck on a pond—calm and laid-back on the surface, a churning mess underneath. In Ian, he’s found someone with whom he feels comfortable enough to share some of what’s going on beneath the surface. The only catch is that Ian is dead set on leaving the city as soon as he can. Ty works up a plan to convince Ian that New York is, in fact, the greatest city in the world. But when Ian receives an offer for a job overseas, Ty needs a new plan: convince Ian that home is where Ty is.
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